Scholarship/Loan Programs

Dottie Martin Teachers’ Scholarship

This annual scholarship is designed for any student who is studying education. Eligible participants can be considered for the scholarship after approval of their program by the Board of Directors of the Dottie Martin Teachers’ Scholarship fund. Preference will be given to those who are particularly interested in child guidance and counseling who want to make a difference in the lives of North Carolina’s children.

Eligibility: Applicants must

• Plan to teach in North Carolina once their education is completed
• Presently be in an education program with an established career plan for teaching (high school students or recent high school graduates are not eligible to apply)
• Fully complete a series of background history forms present in the application
• Provide a recent college transcript, three letters of recommendation, and a typed essay which includes: reason for applying, career goals, teaching plans, and reasons why the applicant should receive the Dottie Martin scholarship and the financial burden which they would incur without the scholarship.

North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (NCACPA)

The North Carolina Association of CPAs’ (NCACPA) charitable foundation, the NC CPA Foundation, Inc. annually awards accounting scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, to deserving North Carolina accounting students.

Eligibility: The award is available to deserving North Carolina accounting students who:

• Have a NC residence
• Enroll in a NC college or university
• Have completed at least one college or university level accounting course
• Have completed at least 36 semester hours (or equivalent) by the start of the spring semester of the year of application
• Enroll or are enrolled in an academic program leading to a degree in accounting or its equivalent, either currently or during the first semester following the awarding of the scholarship
• Are sponsored by two accounting faculty members who sign the application form
• Provide evidence of academic achievement with GPA (including accounting subjects and overall) of 3.0 or higher on 4.0 scale
• Submit typed essay on topic of “What role do CPAs play in society and should that role change, given events of the past few years?”

North Carolina Community College Foundation Endowment for Teacher Preparation

The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, Inc., the North Carolina General Assembly and Bank of America have contributed more than $2 million toward the establishment of an endowment within the North Carolina Community College Foundation to support an expanded role for North Carolina’s community colleges in teacher preparation.

Eligibility and priorities: Preference in awarding grants to students who meet one or more of the following qualifications:

• Students who are “career changers” who have returned to school from other occupations or from home responsibilities.
• Students preparing to teach mathematics or science in middle or high school.
• Students enrolled in community colleges serving low-wealth counties, as designated by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (Burke, Caldwell, Lincoln and Wilkes are a few of these identified counties, for a complete list see Financial Aid).
• Students must have completed the FAFSA.

Funding, Conditions and Requirements: The Foundation will award grants once per academic year. The total award per recipients will be $2,500 per semester for up to two consecutive semesters of full-time study (a minimum of 12 hours per semester).

Receipt of second semester funds will be contingent upon satisfactory academic performance, with a minimum grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, and progress toward the community college degree.

Recipients may re-apply for a second year of funding.

Acceptance of the grants carries with it the following obligations:

• Recipient must complete all credentials and begin work as a teacher in a public or charter school in a low-wealth county in North Carolina within six years of the first grant award.
• Recipient must teach two full years for each full year of scholarship grants. The first two years of the obligation must be completed within eight years of the grant award. Any additional obligation must be completed within ten years.
• Recipient must attend, if invited, a meeting of the Foundation or other appropriate group to report on the impact of the scholarship grant on his or her experience in preparing to teach.
• Recipient must sign a promissory note for each award which will be forgiven when the teaching obligation is fulfilled. The terms of the note will provide for a payback as noted in paragraph 2.
• Recipients who are unable to meet these obligations will be required to repay the grant within ten years of the grant award.

Application Process: Applications will be made available through the Financial Aid Office once they are received from the North Carolina Community College System Office. They will be placed on the CCC&TI Financial Aid Scholarship Bulletin Boards and on the Financial Aid website. These are generally released late summer.

North Carolina Hospitality Education Foundation

The Hospitality Education Foundation of the North Carolina Restaurant Association provides scholarships for individuals pursuing educational programs in hospitality and tourism. Scholarships are awarded in four categories with two of these at the community college level.

For the high school students’ scholarship applicants

• Must be high school seniors who plan to enroll or students already enrolled in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two-year or four-year college or university, or vocational-technical school in North Carolina
• Pursuing a course of study in culinary arts, hospitality management or tourism.
• North Carolina resident.

For the community college culinary students applicants must be:

• Students who are already enrolled in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two-year college or culinary program
• Pursuing a degree in culinary arts, hospitality management or tourism
• North Carolina resident.

North Carolina Student Loan Program for Health, Science, and Mathematics

(FELS – repealed but renewable)

The NC State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) administers this program. The loan obligation may be forgiven through approved employment within the state of North Carolina provided the recipient works in the field for which he/she was funded. Associate Degree/Certificate Programs can receive $3,000 per year. Maximum loan amount is $6,000 for two years if unconditionally accepted into specific program discipline.

One calendar year of full-time employment in designated shortage areas is required for each school year a loan was received. Approved service areas include state facilities and educational systems, or designated healthcare and veterinary science disciplines. Should the student not complete the service obligation, cash repayment will be required. The in-school interest rate is 4%. The out-of-school interest rate ranges from 10% to 15%, depending upon the circumstances of repayment.

Eligibility: To be considered for a loan, you must: 1) be a citizen of the US and a legal resident of North Carolina, 2) have attained unconditional acceptance or promotion in your respective field, and 3) must establish financial need. Eligible fields of study are Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiography, Nuclear Medicine Technologist, and Nursing.

All new applications and supporting materials must be submitted to the NCSEAA no later than June 1 for the upcoming academic year. Renewal applications must be completed prior to April 1 of the given year.

North Carolina Veterans’ Scholarships

Eligibility: Award is available to children (under age 25 at time of application) of certain deceased or disabled veterans or of veterans who were listed as POW/MIA. Veteran’s disabilities must have occurred during a period of war. Veteran must have been legal resident of North Carolina at time of entry into service, or child must have been born in North Carolina and resided there continuously.

Value: Full scholarships provide for four academic years of free tuition, room and board allowances, and mandatory fees at state-supported institutions. Limited scholarships provide free tuition and mandatory fees at public universities. Awards may be used for either undergraduate or graduate study.

Nurse Education Scholarship Loan Program (NESLP)

(FELS – repealed but renewable)

The NESLP is designed to reduce the shortage of practicing nurses in North Carolina.

Eligibility: NESLP awards are

• Available through the financial aid offices of North Carolina colleges and universities that offer nurse education programs that prepare students for licensure in North Carolina as Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN’s or RN’s)
• Based upon financial need and other factors such as academic performance
• Applicants must be residents of North Carolina for tuition purposes.

Application Procedure: Contact the financial aid office for application information. Recipients once selected must sign a promissory note.

Repayment: Recipient enters into a contract with the State of North Carolina to work full-time as a licensed nurse in North Carolina. A minimum of six months consecutive full-time employment with one employer is required to qualify for service cancellation. Loans not repaid through service must be repaid in cash. The interest rate for cash repayment is 10% from the date of disbursement. Recipient has up to seven years to repay loans in service or ten years to repay loans in cash.

Nurse Scholars Program (NSP)

(FELS – repealed but renewable)

The NSP is a competitive, merit-based scholarship/loan program available to students who have chosen to enter the nursing profession. An 11-member Nurse Scholars Commission selects recipients for the award on the basis of superior academics, leadership potential, and desire to practice nursing on a full-time basis in North Carolina.

Eligibility: Applicants must

• Be NC residents for tuition purposes
• Plan to enter a nursing program at a North Carolina college, university, or hospital that offers nurse education programs which prepare students for licensure as Registered Nurses (RN’s)
• Financial need is not a criterion.

Prospective Teacher Scholarship/Loan (PTSL)

(FELS – repealed but renewable)

The Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan is a competitive, merit-based scholarship-loan program available to students who have chosen to enter the education profession. A school official such as a high school counselor or principal must recommend students for this award. Recipients must have maintained a minimum unweighted cumulative grade point average of a 3.0 or better, received a score of 900 or better on the SAT or score of 19 or better on the ACT, enroll in a teacher preparation program at any of the eligible institutions, and plan to pursue a degree in teacher education to become a certified teacher and demonstrate a commitment to teach in the State’s public schools.